Wonders of the Demon World
by nikoboo
Summary: Weird things are out there, be it people, demons or... frog-things. Hiei and Kurama deal with a curious Quay. OC alert. No pairings. Takes place after "Subsitute," but is also a stand-alone.


Hiei sighed as the giggling that had been going on behind him for the past few hours rose in volume. "What the heck _is_ that?" Vaguely, he noticed their young companion was pointing to a rather large plant.

Kurama, who had at first answered all the girl's questions in excruciating detail but then realized she got bored halfway through his explanations, also sighed and brought a hand up to his forehead. Hiei smirked at the redhead's poorly hidden angry tick. "It's just another plant, Quay." He liked the little island girl, he honestly did, but he wasn't used to dealing with children. At least not for extended periods of time and in his current situation. Sure, he could tolerate his step-brother who was was only a year or two older than she was, but that was in the human world, and for no more than a day or two at most. Quay had been living with him for nearly six months, and he _still_ wasn't used to it. This "favor to a friend of a friend," was turning out to be a lot tougher than he thought.

What's worse was that she was ihis/i responsibility and ihe/i had to decide how much about his life he was going to tell her. Luckily for him, she already knew quite a bit about the supernatural. He just had to explain what the Demon World was. Which brought them to their current situation. Hiei had invited him to stay at Mukuro's for awhile, to help him train the squad that was put under his command. Surely Kurama would help his friend who had practically beamed at him when he told him the news - well as close to "beaming" as Hiei could be anyway. The only issue was what to do with Quay.

Kurama couldn't leave her with his mother, she was on vacation with her husband and step-son. He himself had claimed to be too busy to join them. Yusuke and Kuwabara had offered, but as much as Kurama trusted them, he knew they would be terrible influences on the thirteen-year-old. It was _their_ fault Quay had ended up in the hospital with a concussion because they had convinced her Hiei was up in a tree waiting for her. Too bad none of them had known the girl was terribly afraid of heights. Getting up was no problem. Getting _down_ had involved useless coaxing and a panicked jump to the ground with her head ending up as a cushion. Leaving her at Genkai's was the safest idea, but the temple was being fumigated. Damn termites.

Another laugh brought Kurama out of his reverie. "It looks like a giant you-know-what."

Trying to push his irritation down, the youko forced a smile on his face and put a tense hand on Quay's shoulder, absently pushing back a lock of her dark unruly hair. "Did you bring your inhaler?"

"Yup."

"Did you take a dose before we left?"

Hiei huffed and crossed his arms, still walking a little ahead of the other two. "Of course she did, you idiot. If she hadn't, she wouldn't even be conscious right now."

Kurama glared, more out of embarrassment than anger. Hiei had a point. Spirit World was trying out a new type of "drug" that allowed humans to safely cross over to the Demon World without passing out from the air. Since Quay was going to be joining Kurama on this little 'trip,' everyone figured she'd be the perfect guinea pig. She had been a little wary at first, but Koenma had assured her that the worst side affect would be that she'd sprout horns or claws. The little dummy had gotten excited and took a hit right then and there. She had actually seemed genuinely disappointed when neither horns nor claws appeared.

"Hey, why's that huge guy with the eyepatch wearing an orange metal cup?"

The redhead sighed as Hiei snorted. Why him?

*********

It was lucky that Quay had met Mukuro before at Genkai's, however brief the interaction was. At least it spared Hiei the awkward introductions. Of course, he wouldn't have brought her without telling Mukuro first. He didn't have a death wish.

The two certainly didn't have problems with one another, though they did have mannerisms that often clashed. Quay liked to greet everyone with a hug and kiss and still had trouble refraining from doing so; Mukuro hated physical contact. Hiei had to stick his foot out and trip the girl when they had first arrived and she made a beeline for the demon lord.

Still, Mukuro tolerated the girl and they held fairly civil conversations the few times they happened to see each other. She particularly enjoyed the way Quay called her "Ma'am." The one condition Mukuro had given Hiei was that Quay was to stay out of everyone's way. She was not to interfere with any of their work or the political aspect of their job, which Hiei knew wouldn't be difficult to keep the girl from.

So when Mukuro called Hiei into his quarters to talk about the girl, he wasn't itoo/i worried.

"Do you know where your little human girl is right now?"

Hiei frowned and crossed his arms. "She's not mine, and how should I know? Probably outside somewhere." It was no secret that Quay loved to be outdoors whenever possible. Growing up on an island, she almost never played inside unless it was the rainy season, and even then she preferred to leave the house.

Her visible eye narrowing, Mukuro mirrored his action and titled her chin upwards. "You should know. She's in _your_ care."

"She's technically in _Kurama's_ care." Shuddering internally at the intensified glare she was sending him, Hiei uncrossed his arms and turned on his heel. "I'll go find her."

"Don't bother. She's in the fourth training room."

Exasperated, Hiei spun around, a frown between his brows. "If you knew, why did you ask me?"

"To see if _you_ knew." His hands found their ways into his pockets. Yet again Mukuro had been messing with him and he hadn't seen through her game. "Go in there and see what she's doing. I don't want her breaking things. Who knows what she could do with the weapons in there."

Wordlessly, Hiei nodded and made his way to the fourth training room. Mukuro had a point. Quay was curious about almost everything, especially things she had never seen before. The previous day's non-stop questioning as they walked through the Demon World wilderness and marketplace was clear proof of that.

Not even bothering to knock, Hiei pushed the heavy and ornate double doors open only to find the dark-haired girl standing in the middle of the room, donned only in baggy sweats that looked like the crotch was too low and a white cami, headphones covering her ears, hips swinging from side to side. He snorted at how ridiculous she looked.

"What are you doing?"

Spotting him and realizing he was talking but not hearing what he said, Quay uncovered her ears and pushed the pause button on the orange mp3 player hanging from her right hip. "What?"

Hiei rolled his eyes but couldn't resist snorting again. "What are you doing?"

"Practicin'."

"For what?"

Smiling proudly and puffing her chest out a little, Quay replied, "Class!"

Oh right. Back in the human world, Quay had taken up quite a few extra-curricular activities under Kurama's urging. Hiei was pretty sure it was either to give Kurama a break from baby-sitting, or to keep the girl out of trouble. Maybe both. He remembered the redhead mentioning that besides after-school soccer, Quay particularly enjoyed boxing and something called 'hip-hop.'

He could only assume that was what she was doing at the moment. "Well don't break anything in here."

"Wait," she called as he turned to leave, "You're goin' already? Wanna stay and learn some hip-hop dance steps?"

"And why would I do that?"

"Cuz... ya have nothin' better to do?" she ventured.

The fire demon smirked and shook his head.

"Cuz... ya wanna spend quality time with me?"

He rolled his eyes and grunted.

"Cuz... Okay I really jus' wanna see ya bust a move."

"I'm leaving."

Laughing, she ran towards him and grabbed his arm. "No! C'mon Hiei-san it'll be fun!"

Pulling away, Hiei kept walking to the door and pushed it open. "Find someone else to play with."

As he walked out, he faintly heard Quay moan and reply, "But there _isn'_ anyone to play with!"

*********

Water. He wasn't a big fan of water. Surprisingly, neither was Kurama. Hiei and the redhead were sitting on the sand, watching as Quay played in the water. Mukuro had _forced _him to take a day off, and made him bring the girl along. He had a feeling the demon lord was having more of a break than they were.

Hearing Quay call his name, Hiei glared in her direction, only to be surprised at what she was holding. She came running up to him, water sloshing around her legs. "Look, Hiei-san, look! It's like a giant frog with three eyes and an eel tail!"

"Quay, put it down!" He scolded.

Smiling and brandishing the creature by its tail as if it were some sort of great prize, Quay held it out to him and replied, "Aw but c'mon! It's so weird lookin'! Ya think it's edible? Should we give it to Mukuro-san as a gift? We can even put a ribbon 'round it's neck!"

"Quay-" Kurama began before he was cut off by a deep but feminine voice.

"Pumme dahn!"

Wide-eyed, Quay jumped, nearly dropping the rabbit-sized demon in her grasp. "Did-did ya jus' talk to me?"

"Ah sed pumme dahn ya ijit!"

Squealing as the frog-like creature's pores widened and sprayed her with a thick purple dust, Quay dropped it and brought her hands over to her eyes, causing Hiei and Kurama to jump up and pull her towards them.

"Don't open your eyes," Hiei commanded, "Or the spores will get in them and you won't be able to see for a couple weeks."

Grabbing a towel and quickly running to wet it, Kurama gently wiped her face until all the purple was gone. "Be more careful, will you? If you don't know what something is, don't touch it."

Opening one eye cautiously then the other, Quay looked up at him with a pout. "Then how am I s'posed to figure out what it is?"

"Just ask."

"Ask who?"

Kurama sighed as Hiei huffed and sat back down, grumbling something that sounded like 'too much trouble,' and 'too curious for her own good.' "Hiei or me."

"But the two of ya are always busy."

Neither of them could keep down the tinge of guilt her statement had brought. It would have hurt less if she had yelled it or said it meanly, but she hadn't. She could have said 'Hiei is a fire demon' and it would have sounded the same.

Hiei sighed in annoyance but pulled the girl down to sit beside him. "Well we're not busy now. Get all those stupid questions out of you so we can have a little peace later."

Smiling, Quay nodded eagerly and absently picked up a handful of sand and slowly let the sand run onto Hiei's leg. He allowed the action, much to Kurama's surprise. The youko sat too, also willing to answer the young human's questions. "So, what was that thing, anyway?" She ventured.

"It's called a Keeviel. A low-class demon that pretty much sleeps in water all day."

"Why in the water?"

"It's amphibious."

"Well how come it could talk?"

"It's a _demon_."

"... Why was the stuff it puffed out purple?"

"Quay!"

"What?? Ya said I could ask!"

"Ugh!" Flopping down on his back and crossing his arms above his eyes, Hiei sighed in irritation and resisted the urge to up and run. "Kurama," he barked. "Your turn!"

He could hear the youko chuckling beside him. "But you were doing such a _wonderful_ job!"

"Kurama..." Hiei growled warningly.

"Alright, alright. What else do you want to know, Quay?"

The girl smiled and moved closer to him and further away from the fire youkai who seemed to have enough of her for the moment. "Ya told me before we left that ya used to live here. Do you like human world better or this one?"

Kurama let out a quiet laugh and patted Quay's head, subconsciously flattening down the cowlicks caused by the water. "Now that's certainly a loaded question. I suppose I'd have to say human world, because that's where my family is."

Quay nodded. "I guess that makes sense. Bein' with your family's the best."

Glancing at the prone figure to her left, Quay smiled up at Kurama with a wink. "Do you think he's really sleepin'?"

"Maybe. Hiei falls asleep easily enough. He's a light sleeper though."

"Should we draw somethin' on his face?"

"I'm awake, you idiots."

The two of them broke out in giggles, and Hiei was thankful for his arms above his face to hide the barest hint of a smile invading his face. He listened as Quay and Kurama continued to chat idly, sometimes gracing them with a grunt or snort when Quay would suggest anything that had to do with him. The words 'tickle,' 'wet willie,' and 'bury in the sand,' came up quite a few times.

"Ooooh! Lookit that, Kurama-san!"

"What?"

Curious, Hiei sat up only to find Quay pointing straight into the setting sun. "It's so red! I've never seen such a pretty sunset! And lookit the _water_! It's like liquid fire!"

"It's not that impressive," Hiei broke in with a bored tone. He was getting sleepy from the warmth of the shore. "It always looks like that."

Quay gasped, turning wide eyes to him and then Kurama. "Really? Ya get to see this all the time?" The redhead nodded, a smile on his face. "That's SO cool!" Standing quickly and rushing off into the water, Quay put her hands in and watched, transfixed as the bright but still translucent colors washed over her hand. The water was warmer than it had been when they first arrived, and it seemed to shimmer over her skin.

Koenma had warned her that the demon world was barbaric and feral, and had even gone so far as to command she never go out alone. But he never said it could be _pretty_. The sun felt comforting on her face and the water like an old friend. It actually made her a little homesick, but she was enjoying herself too much to let the feeling fester. Sighing appreciatively, Quay stood straight up, reluctantly pulling her hands from the beautiful water.

From the shore, Hiei and Kurama watched as Quay stood still as a statue, a smile on one's face and no emotion on the other's. "She really is a sweet girl."

"Hn. She's a wonder, I'll give her that much."

*********

Something must have happened that day on the beach because Quay no longer kept asking them any questions and had resigned herself to simply gazing out the windows of Mukuro's fortress with a smile or spending hours in the training rooms, either practicing for her dance class or getting ready for the her school's soccer season.

It had thrown everyone, even the army that was used to seeing her practically hanging off Hiei and/or Kurama, through a loop, so much so that one of the other generals had voiced concern to Mukuro herself. Mukuro had asked Hiei what had happened, and when he said he hadn't the slightest, she had sent him to go figure it out. When he confronted Quay, all she did was smile and shrug and tell him, "I figured it be fun to jus' let everythin' surprise me."

A week later, Hiei was on the grounds with the squad put under his command when a faint, "Hiei-san!" met his ears. Frowning and looking around, he could see no one greeting him. The fire demon was about to shrug it off when one of his men gasped and pointed at the highest point of the fortress, where a tiny speck was wavering. "Hiei-san!" The speck called.

Eyes widening, Hiei recognized the voice as Quay's and immediately began flitting up the fortress walls. Didn't the stupid little idiot remember what happened last time? Only this time it wasn't a tree, it was Mukuro's fortress. If she fell, she'd definitely get more than a bruised brain. Legs moving as fast as he could make them, Hiei called back fiercely, "Don't move! I'm coming to get you!" How did she even _get_ up there?!

Reaching the top and balancing with ease, Hiei made to grab the girl but stopped abruptly as his eyes landed on her. With one hand she was holding onto a pillar, and with the other, she was holding a cellphone out at arm's length.

"What-"

"Hiei-san look!" She squealed with a smile, "I get reception up here! Isn' that cool?"

Mukuro rose a brow as a small black blur fell past her window, but shrugged and continued with her chat with Kurama.

"Did you see-" The youko began.

"Yes," she replied dismissively, "It was probably just a bird."

**A few hours later when it was beginning to get dark, a voice rang out somewhere near the roof, "Hey! Can someone get me down?" But everyone was too busy laughing at the bump on Hiei's head to care.


End file.
